Implant Retained Dentures are dentures for when you have permanent screw-like implants surgically screwed into your jaw, with metal Locator type (or Ball type) Posts (officially called abutments) attached to the top of the implants so that dentures can be snapped in and out by you for a superior fit. The dentures have special metal rings called Housings embedded in the pink acrylic plastic of the denture base and sticking a little bit out so that they can snap onto the implant assembly in your mouth (see the image below). Implant Dentures are considered superior dentures because they are basically attached to your jaw bone, so there is little chance of them moving around, rather than relying on suction for Regular Upper Dentures, or Regular Lower Dentures that sometimes even require a couple of dabs of adhesive like Poligrip to hold them in place. If you already have implants or qualify to get them, then we at the Grantham Denture Clinic can make you an Implant Retained Denture (upper or lower, full or partial) that you snap in and out of your mouth to achieve the best denture fit, comfort, stability, hygiene, and functionality.
Why Implant Dentures?
At some point in your life you hear about Implants—permanent screw-like posts that are surgically put into your jaw bone. As you begin asking questions of your denturist and dentist, you learn that for the best fit of dentures, implants are the superior method, though the implant surgery itself can be quite costly and does deter many people for that reason. But you certainly can’t fault the results: in general you cannot get a better fit. Normally (i) a Regular Full Upper Denture is kept in the mouth using suction to your upper palate; (ii) a Regular Partial Upper or Lower Denture is kept in the mouth using clasps that hook onto your still existing natural teeth; and (iii) a Regular Full Lower Denture is kept in your mouth as best as possible using a precise impression of your lower gums and ridges, and adhesive like Poligrip. With Implant Dentures you don’t need any of this, or the problems that come with them.
As you can tell from this description, the Regular Full Lower Denture is the most problematic as far as its movement in your mouth goes when you speak and eat: it just doesn’t fit as tightly as you may want, though you can definitely get used to it and manage quite well. But the best option for some people may be to get implants screwed into their jaw and then get an Implant Denture that snaps onto the abutments (posts) that are screwed into the implants. This secures the denture in position on the implants screwed into your jaw. This is whether you get a full or partial implant denture, upper or lower, or both in some combination. Some people just get implants for the lower, because that’s the most problematic with regular dentures.
Here at the Grantham Denture Clinic, we make the type of implant dentures that you can take out of your mouth yourself on a daily basis for brushing & cleaning and giving your mouth a rest overnight by soaking them in a cleaning solution, and then rinse & snap back into your mouth in the morning. These are called Implant Retained/Tissue Supported Dentures—the implants retain (“hold secure”) the denture in your mouth, and the denture still sits on your gums to support it.
How Implant Dentures Work
Implants, Posts & Housings
On the right we have a mock-up of the top of your mouth, with 7 remaining natural teeth, and 2 Locator type Abutments (Posts) sticking up through your gums, screwed onto the buried Implants (inset) that an oral surgeon placed into your jaw bone. On the left we have an Upper Implant Denture with the 2 Housings (silver metal rings) embedded in the pink acrylic (this particular upper denture is an upper-palate-open type, with the hole in the middle).
You would then take this denture in your hands, insert it into your mouth and snap it on over top of the 2 Implant Posts, giving you a superior fit since it’s anchored to your jaw bone, but still removable on a daily basis for cleaning and to give your mouth a rest overnight while your denture soaks in a cleaning solution.
The number of Implants necessary for a Partial Denture or Full Denture needs to be discussed with your denturist and oral surgeon: it all depends on what is needed and what you can afford. Whatever number of implants you have, your denturist can then make an Implant Denture with the number of Housings you need.
Nylon Inserts
Inside the metal Housings embedded in the pink acrylic base of the Implant Denture are what are called Nylon Inserts, round plastic rings. You can see them in this photo: these blue Nylon Inserts in the 4 housings on this Full Upper Implant Denture function to hold the denture on the 4 Implant Posts. They come in all sorts of different colours to distinguish their different tension strengths.
Nylon Inserts are for Locator type Abutments.
The Nylons do wear out and therefore need to be replaced by your denturist. The frequency of their needing replacement depends on what you chew, how hard your bite is, how parallel the posts are and your method of inserting the denture (biting it into place or pushing it in with your fingers).
By the way, as an aside, you can see Metal Meshing embedded inside the pink acrylic base of this denture: your denturist at the Grantham Denture Clinic often also adds this to certain New Dentures and Rebases as a way to strengthen and reinforce the denture and thus decrease breakage.
Number of Appointments
Before the Implant Denture is Made
If you are thinking about snap-in Implant Retained Dentures, and your dentist believes you may be a candidate for implants, then your next step is to book a Free Consultation appointment here at the Grantham Denture Clinic.
At Your Appointment, your denturist will perform an examination and make an assessment of your oral factors, such as the state of your teeth, gums, ridges, and so on, discuss with you your options, go over costs and perhaps make a recommendation. If you together with your denturist decide to proceed with an Implant Retained Denture, and when you are ready for the next step, then your denturist will fax over (at no charge) to your oral surgeon a referral for you to get a consultation appointment with the surgeon. If extractions of your natural teeth are also still required, then that is also factored in: usually extractions are done first, but sometimes both the extractions and implants surgery are done at the same time. A referral is required for anything done by an oral surgeon: you are not able to make first contact with them directly—it works the same as with a medical specialist. If you don’t have an oral surgeon, your denturist can suggest one or two. The oral surgery office will then contact you sometime to book an appointment.
After your consultation appointment with the oral surgeon, and you are a go, your denturist and oral surgeon will communicate with each other on details, and your surgery is booked by the oral surgery office. Your oral surgeon will also have discussed with you the healing period that will be needed after the implants surgery—which can be a number of months. When you are all healed up, then you can contact our office to proceed with the fabrication of your Implant Denture, which will involve the following appointments.
Appointments to Make Your Implant Denture
Initially, your next appointment will be another Free Consultation appointment with us here at the Grantham Denture Clinic: when your healing period is coming to an end, you can call us to book another consultation appointment for your denturist to exam the progress of your healing and whether things have healed sufficiently to begin the denture-making process. If more time is needed for healing to complete—your denturist may give you a recommended further waiting time period—then you will call us to book your final examination to ensure healing is complete. If it is indeed complete, then we’ll proceed with the Preliminary Impressions in that same appointment, proceeding as follows:
Full Implant Dentures
(View more on Full Dentures in general)
(4-5 appointments over 3 weeks usually)
Full Upper Implant Denture (5 appointments over 3 weeks usually):
(1) Preliminary Impressions, (2) Final Upper Impression, (3) Bite, (4) Wax Try-in, (5) Finished Denture Inserted
Full Lower Implant Denture (4 appointments over 3 weeks usually):
(1) Preliminary Impressions, (2) Bite, (3) Wax Try-in, (4) Finished Denture Inserted
Full Upper & Full Lower Implant Dentures (5 appointments over 3 weeks usually):
(1) Preliminary Impressions, (2) Final Upper Impression, (3) Bite, (4) Wax Try-in, (5) Finished Dentures Inserted
If you are getting both one Full Implant Denture and one Partial Implant Denture, then you will still need 4-5 appointments, as a full denture usually takes 4-5 appointments and a partial denture 3-4. We make both dentures at the same time (as opposed to making one first to completion and then the second one by itself afterwards—unless you want it that way); each of your appointments for each one are done simultaneously. But your Full Denture still takes 4-5 appointments.
Partial Implant Dentures
(View more on Partial Dentures in general)
(4 appointments over 3-4 weeks usually)
Acrylic Partial Implant Dentures (no metal framework) usually takes 3 weeks.
Cast Partial Implant Dentures (with a Cast Metal Framework), that needs to be sent out to a lab with casting equipment, usually takes 4 weeks (we usually get the metal frame back from the lab in 9-12 days, depending on how busy the lab is).
In general, whether you are getting a Partial Upper Implant Denture or a Partial Lower Implant Denture or Both (acrylic or cast), you will need these 4 appointments:
(1) Preliminary Impressions, (2) Bite, (3) Wax Try-in, (4) Finished Denture Inserted
If you are getting both one Partial Implant Denture and one Full Implant Denture, then you will need 4-5 appointments as outlined above under Full Implant Dentures, as a full denture usually takes 4-5 appointments and a partial denture 3-4. We make both dentures at the same time (as opposed to making one first to completion and then the second one by itself afterwards—unless you want it that way); each of your appointments for each one are done simultaneously. But your Full Implant Denture will take 4-5 appointments.
Additional Appointments
As mentioned in the Nylon Inserts section above, Nylons break down from time to time and therefore need to be replaced by your denturist. If your Implant Dentures are not holding well anymore, give us a call to book a Nylon Replacement appointment. The frequency of their needing replacement varies, and how often depends on many factors that you can discuss with your denturist.
If you are getting extractions of natural teeth as well (in addition to getting implants), and are thinking of getting all your own teeth extracted (pulled), then another advantage of booking a Free Consultation appointment with your denturist here at the Grantham Denture Clinic BEFORE you get your extractions and implants done is your denturist may recommend keeping certain natural teeth that are still in not-too-bad shape as a better option to hold in a Partial Implant Denture. In such a case, existing natural teeth are used as an anchor to hold a Partial Implant Denture in extra more stably beyond the implants, almost as if you had more implants at little additional cost. For instance, 3 or 4 implants hold a Full Implant Denture in more securely than just 2 implants. But with 1 or 2 clasps on a Partial Implant Denture, you may only need 2 implants that all together (clasps & implants) hold the denture in just as more securely as a Full Implant Denture with 3 or 4 implants. Notwithstanding this truth, 2 implants are sufficient for most people, especially if cost is a factor. But for that extra good fit, if you have 1 or 2 natural teeth in not-too-bad condition, your denturist might recommend a Partial Implant Denture for you.
We understand the need to consider many factors
when selecting a denture that’s right for you.
That’s why we encourage you to visit us
for a complimentary consultation.
You’ll be able to ask questions so you can
make the best decision for you—with confidence.
Call us to book your Free Consultation appointment.
We understand the need
to consider many factors
when selecting a denture
that’s right for you.
That’s why we encourage you
to visit us for a
complimentary consultation.
You’ll be able to ask
questions so you can
make the best decision
for you—with confidence.
Call us to book your
Free Consultation appointment.
Our Mission at Grantham Denture Clinic for more than 50 years (first with father Joe and now with son Tim as your denturists) has always been to bring our patients exceptional solutions, techniques and quality care to their denture needs along with a compassionate approach, creating a calming environment with confident, yet gentle, personalized denture care, always putting our patients first. We just love the joy we bring to our patients’ lives when we fit them with a denture that makes them feel whole again.
Office Hours
| Mon | 9:00am-5:00pm |
|---|---|
| Tue | 9:00am-5:00pm |
| Wed | 9:00am-5:00pm |
| Thu | 9:00am-5:00pm |
| Fri | Closed |
| Sat | Closed |
| Sun | Closed |
